Cycling UK Forum

It is by no means illegal to cycle on a bypass, but IMHO it's stupid!

The one and only time I saw a pederstrian walking along our local bypass, he was killed a couple of minutes later

No, but it is illegal to cycle on the pedestrianised section of road that the by-pass by-passes. Most towns now have a by-pass or ring road of sorts allowing for pedestrianisation. For motorists, you either go into the town, park and drive out again the same way you came in, or you by-pass the town if going further on. Hence the removal of all useful road signs indicating the route to the next town. For cyclists wishing to pass through the town, the obstructions are numerous, aside from treating us like invading Nazis by removing the road signs. I raised this point with two policemen who insisted I didn't ride my bike in the pedestrianised centre of a pleasant English town. So while it may be suicidally dangerous and not illegal to take the by-pass, it is in fact illegal to do otherwise.

I would recommend you ask a cardiologist, but yes, in general cycling is good for the heart

And even if it's not it'll be good fro someone else when you become an organ donor!

mr riff raff wrote:

saudidave wrote:It is by no means illegal to cycle on a bypass, but IMHO it's stupid! There you are, trundling along at 10 - 15 mph and halfwits are doing 70 (or more) whilst texting/and/or applying make up/driving with one eye shut cos they're P****d etc. To add to your woes, they can't see a bloke wearing hi vis on a 750 Honda, let alone you. Cycling on a bypass is tantamount to a death wish.

I don't suppose people drive doing 70/texting/apply make up on single carriageways do they?

Of course they do these things on single carriageways, however a dual carriageway looks similar to and is treated much like a motorway and I think it is fair to say that the traffic speed is usually considerably higher than on a single carriageway road

Yes you can cycle on a bypass, although a few years ago I noticed for some reason that Dudley in the West Midlands was particularly unfriendly towards cyclists and had "No Cycling" signs at the entrance to it's town bypass.
If I wanted to go that way though they wouldn't stop me ! I don't know if the signs are still there now....
I cycled in the left hand lane along the branch of the M4 that goes to Heathrow Airport once and that was fine, although I wouldn't recommend cycling on motorways - which is illegal

Can i cycle on a by-pass? It's a bit like asking 'can i eat those mushrooms?' the answer is yes. They might kill you - but you can eat them.

I have done both Westway and the West Cross Route in London. They were motorways until fairly recently (the A40(M) and the M41) and you're still not supposed to cycle on them, but I managed to get onto Westway from Gloucester Terrace without seeing the signs.

Who thought it was a good idea to have two roads called A40 in London?

horizon wrote:No, but it is illegal to cycle on the pedestrianised section of road that the by-pass by-passes.

This is spot on. Road designers just don't seem to be able to get their heads around providing for bikes. Either they provide no through route at all, or they provide one but only sign-post to the town centre. As soon as you get there, you're on your own finding the way out again.

rogerzilla wrote:I have done both Westway and the West Cross Route in London. They were motorways until fairly recently (the A40(M) and the M41) and you're still not supposed to cycle on them, but I managed to get onto Westway from Gloucester Terrace without seeing the signs.

Who thought it was a good idea to have two roads called A40 in London?

I bet you needed a bye-pass and change of shorts after that experience

Biggest problem on fast dual carriageways is crossing slip roads joining from the side. Cars will be flying down it looking over their shoulder for a gap to get into. Be wary.

Mmmmm, I saw the aftermath of just such an "accident" on the dual carriageway in Redditch once a few years ago.
The back of the bike was well buckled.
What happened to the rider I don't know.